The cover of J.K. Rowling’s new book. Picture by Pabitra Das

J.K. Rowling’s new offering, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, will hit stores on Thursday with a price tag of Rs 599 a copy and the challenge of reversing a downward trend in the sale of books.

The sublime magic of Harry Potter’s creator versus the pressures of an economy on the downslide — that is how bookstores have billed this battle.

Anantha Padmanabhan, the vice-president (sales) of Penguin India, which is distributing the book in the country, said pre-bookings from Calcutta accounted for approximately five per cent of the national demand. That works out to around 500 copies.

But according to Penguin’s Calcutta office, last-minute bookings have forced stores to increase orders. “Our first lot will have 700 copies, which might not be enough to satisfy all,” an official said.

Rowling fans who reacted late to the impending release of the book could have to wait till at least mid-December for the second lot to arrive and go on sale.

Even then, there is no ignoring the fact that the market is in recession. Sources said 1,500-2,000 copies would have been booked by now had things been normal. The price tag of Rs 599 could be a deterrent, too, especially for a children’s book in price-sensitive Calcutta.

The book market has seen a decline in sales by about 30 to 40 per cent, compared with figures for the corresponding period last year. “It is only Rowling who can create a buzz even in this scenario,” the Penguin official said.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Rowling’s first book since bringing the curtain down on the Harry Potter saga, will be launched with a Beedle Tea Party at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

“This time there will be no on-time release (as was the case with the last two Potter titles — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows releasing at 6am and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at midnight),” Padmanabhan said.

Although bookstores in the city are plugging Brand Rowling, the hype is nowhere near Pottermania.

“It would be unfair to compare this title with the Potter series as it is not a continuation of that story,” said Hemali Sodhi, the head of marketing at Penguin India.

Gautam Jatia of Starmark agreed but said The Tales of Beedle the Bard had still generated a lot of interest. “Otherwise, how many books qualify for pre-booking?”

Siddharth Pansari of Crossword said Potter fans were curious about the book because it was mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book had been bequeathed to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster, in his will.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is described as a collection of wizard fairy tales.

Penguin had launched Deathly Hallows with 60,000 hardcover copies. “That is how much we expect to sell Beedle the Bard by the end of the year,” Padmanabhan said.